Friday, December 08, 2017

The Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack in conjunction with local agencies and the State Highway Administration are implementing the Snow Emergency Plan for Worcester County effective as of December 8 2017 at 2100 hours. This plan is to assist the State Highway Administration in snow clearing operations throughout the county.

Once the snow emergency plan goes into effect, all vehicles on the roadway must be equipped with snow chains or snow tires. In addition, a parking ban is imposed on all snow emergency routes in the County. All vehicles left on the shoulders of these routes will be towed at the owner’s expense.

A press release will be sent out advising when the snow emergency plan has been lifted. Motorists with questions can contact the Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack at 410-641-3101.

The Maryland State Police at the Princess Anne Barrack in Somerset County in conjunction with local agencies and the State Highway Administration have implemented the Snow Emergency Plan. This plan is to assist the State Highway Administration in snow clearing operations throughout the county.

Effective on 12/8/2017 at 9:30 p.m. all vehicles on the roadway must be equipped with snow chains or snow tires on both driving wheels of motor vehicles. In addition, a parking ban is imposed on all snow emergency routes in the County.

A press release will be sent out advising when snow emergency plan has been lifted. Questions should be addressed to the Maryland State Police Barrack in Princess Anne at 443-260-3700.

BRUSSELS - The EU's top diplomat pledged Thursday to reinvigorate diplomacy with Russia, the United States, Jordan and others to ensure Palestinians have a capital in Jerusalem after President Donald Trump recognized the city as Israel's capital.

The European Union, a member of the Middle East Quartet along with the United States, the United Nations and Russia, believes it has a duty to make its voice heard as the Palestinians' biggest aid donor and Israel's top trade partner.

"The European Union has a clear and united position. We believe the only realistic solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine is based on two states and with Jerusalem as the capital of both," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told a news conference.More

The most common type of flu being seen in the United States is influenza A H3N2, the same severe strain that dominated last flu season.

And in Australia, where the winter flu season has just wrapped up, this season's vaccine was only about 10 percent effective against the H3N2 strain.

"Our vaccine is the same as the one used in Australia," said Lynnette Brammer, an epidemiologist in the influenza division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The vaccine doesn't work as well for H3N2 viruses in general."More

A senior Justice Department official was demoted this week amid an ongoing investigation into his contacts with the opposition research firm responsible for the anti-Trump “dossier,” the department confirmed to Fox News.

Until Wednesday morning, Bruce G. Ohr held two titles at DOJ: associate deputy attorney general, a post that placed him four doors down from his boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; and director of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a program described by the department as “the centerpiece of the attorney general’s drug strategy.”

Ohr will retain his OCDETF title but has been stripped of his higher post and ousted from his office on the fourth floor of “Main Justice.”

Initially senior department officials could not provide the reason for Ohr’s demotion, but Fox News has learned that evidence collected by the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., indicates that Ohr met during the 2016 campaign with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored the “dossier.”

House investigators have determined that Ohr met shortly after the election with Glenn Simpson, the founder of Fusion GPS – the opposition research firm that hired Steele to compile the dossier with funds supplied by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.More here

In the three weeks since he was first accused of groping women, Democratic Minnesota Sen. Al Franken offered a litany of excuses instead of taking responsibility for his alleged behavior, even as more accusers stepped forward.

Franken resigned on the Senate floor Thursday after eight women came forward to accuse him of groping or forcibly kissing them. Six of those women accused him of groping their butts or breasts.

Even as he announced his resignation on Thursday, Franken claimed that “some of the allegations are simply not true,” and that he remembered the other accusations differently. He has consistently claimed to have no memory of the incidents when the alleged groping took place, despite offering excuses for doing so.

Narrative: On the above time and date, Troopers from the Salisbury Barrack responded to W/B Rt 50 @ Queen Ave Salisbury MD for the report of a motor vehicle collision. Investigation revealed that Vehicle 1 was heading S/B on Queen Avenue, where it failed to stop at the stop sign at the intersection with W/B Rt 50. Vehicle 1 entered into W/B Rt 50 where it was struck in the driver side by Vehicle 2, which was heading W/B on Rt 50 in lane 2. Vehicle 2 was occupied by eight people. The seven passengers of Vehicle 2 (excluding the driver) were transported to PRMC for non-life threatening injuries. The driver of vehicle 1 was transported to PRMC where he was pronounced deceased. It would be determined that vehicle 1 was at fault in the collision.

Rep. Jim Jordan grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray this morning on the suspected actions of an FBI agent found to have sent anti-Trump text messages to his mistress.

At the House hearing, Jordan (R-Ohio) zeroed in on Peter Strzok's work on the Hillary Clinton email investigation and asked whether Strzok had anything to do with the anti-Trump dossier.

Strzok was moved off Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation over the summer after the text messages were discovered.

"If you kicked everybody off of Mueller's team who was anti-Trump, I don't think there'd be anybody left," said Jordan, alleging there is "more" behind Strzok's departure from Mueller's team.

"My hunch is it has something to do with the dossier," he told Wray.

Jordan laid out a scenario in which he said he believes it may have been Strzok who brought the dossier to a FISA court to obtain clearance for surveillance on members of the Trump campaign.

"If you had the FBI working with the Democrats' campaign, taking opposition research and dressing it all up and turning into an intelligence document and taking it to the FISA court so they could spy on the other campaign that is as wrong as it gets," said Jordan.

He said Wray could easily disprove his allegation by releasing the FISA application to Congress. More

Judge Andrew Napolitano on Thursday implored Jeff Sessions to take the case against Hillary Clinton to a grand jury, saying the "evidence of her guilt is overwhelming on espionage."

Napolitano made the comments on Fox News' "Fox and Friends" morning show, adding that the attorney general should make up for the sins committed by former FBI Director James Comey.

"They did go easy on Hillary Clinton," Judge Nap told the Fox News panel. "Jim Comey was profoundly wrong. He was wrong on the facts. He was wrong on the law. He was wrong to make the decision we're not going to prosecute her.

"Jeff Sessions … should re-examine the evidence against Mrs. Clinton, give it to prosecutors and say present it to a grand jury. The evidence of her guilt is overwhelming on espionage," Judge Nap said.

"Now we know the evidence of her guilt in lying to the FBI is overwhelming. All of that should be sent to a grand jury," Judge Nap said.

Don’t fall for former FBI Director James Comey’s latest tweet claiming that “the FBI is and always will be independent.”

To the contrary, we now know that the FBI has been overtly biased in favor of Hillary Clinton and her associates and overly zealous in its investigation of Donald Trump and his associates.

The G-men have gone rogue.

In fact, recent reports suggest the FBI now serves as the command center of the Deep State, aptly housed in the J. Edgar Hoover Building. The iconic former director would undoubtedly approve of their questionable tactics.

Working hand in hand with the special counsel’s office, the FBI/Deep State is in high gear. Through constant leaks of confidential or embarrassing materials, unmasking classified information about Trump associates, stonewalling Congressional requests for testimony and information about FBI conduct, selective prosecutions, and the coordination and hiring of high-level and deeply-biased partisans, the Deep State follows its battle plan for impeachment and annihilation of Donald Trump and campaign aides.

It looks like the top echelon of the Deep State includes, at the very least, former FBI director James Comey, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and FBI agents Lisa Page and Peter Strzok, as well as the many other overt Hillary supporters and Trump haters populating the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the FBI.

Earlier in 2017, using the latest - and soon to be revised - Fed data, newspapers and financial media reported that US consumer credit card debt had risen above $1 trillion for the first time since the financial crisis.

Ironically, just a few months later the Fed revised its data series sharply lower, sending the revolving credit total back under this "psychological number." At least until recently, when the latest consumer credit update from the Fed disclosed that in October, consumer credit rose by $20.5 billion, more than the $17.5 billion expected, of which $12.2 billion was non-revolving, auto and student loans, and $8.3 billion was credit card debt. This was the biggest monthly increase in credit card debt since last November's (revised) $12.3 billion.

Total consumer credit rose by 6.5% Y/Y, rising to $3.802 trillion as of Oct 31. That number is more than double the rate of increase of US GDP or wage growth, making it clear just where America's "purchasing power" comes from.

Finally, this was also the single biggest monthly increase in consumer credit since November 2016.

GOP lawmakers have come forward with new allegations of political bias or interference at the FBI - this time involving the 2012 Benghazi attack. John Solomon of The Hill reports tht Rep. Ron Desantis (R-FL) recently interviewed a retired FBI supervisor who told him he was instructed by Deputy Director Andrew McCabe not to call the 2012 Benghazi attack an act of terrorism when distributing the FBI's findings to the larger intelligence community - despite knowing exactly who conducted the attack.

The agent found the instruction concerning because his unit had gathered incontrovertible evidence showing a major al Qaeda figure had directed the attack and the information had already been briefed to President Obama, the lawmaker said. -The Hill

After the September 11, 2012 attack against U.S. government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, the Obama administration peddled a lie, telling the public that the attack was related to Muslims who had become enraged at an anti-Islam YouTube video, and not a planned act of terrorism - despite Hillary Clinton emailing Chelsea Clinton from her unsecure @clintonemail.com server the night of the attack to say exactly that.

Chelsea - using the pseudonym "Diane Reyonds" probably didn't have the clearance to receive classified intelligence from her mother, the Secretary of State.

"Two of our officers were killed in Benghazi by an Al Queda-like group: The Ambassador, whom I handpicked and a young communications officer on temporary duty w a wife and two young children. Very hard day and I fear more of the same tomorrow." -Hillary Clinton to Chelsea Clinton

If Strzok did use the now-discredited Fusion GPS to obtain FISA court permission for the NSA to conduct electronic surveillance on Trump campaign officials, much of the evidence Mueller may want to use to establish Russian collusion could conceivably be suspect under Supreme Court “fruit of the poisonous tree” illegal search and seizure Fourth Amendment rulings.

“If holding anti-Trump opinions was the reason Strzok was dismissed from Muller’s team, then 95 percent of Mueller’s team would have to be dismissed,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) pressed during questioning at the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

President Trump and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will have an opportunity in coming weeks to increase manufacturing jobs and bolster U.S. exports by simply cutting back on the red tape of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Although every source of energy – wind, solar, renewable, carbon-based and the rest – has a place on the market, the RFS includes a government-imposed requirement mandating that a specified amount of renewable fuels are mixed into at least 15 billion gallons of America's diesel fuel and gasoline annually.

Refiners blend ethanol made from corn into fuel to meet this RFS requirement, and as a result farmers who grow corn and politicians from corn-growing state support the RFS. More corn is produced in Iowa than any other state.

No one said that draining the swamp would be easy. While lobbyists and officialsrepresenting corn states have been fighting President Trump’s EPA every step of the way, I am still hopeful that the White House will make the decision that benefits the economy at large.

To satisfy Washington bureaucrats, refineries and distributors must either produce the mix of fuel containing ethanol on their own; purchase credits – called Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) from someone who can blend it; or import renewables from overseas that qualify for RINs credits.

Volunteers have criticised the Red Cross charity after receiving a communication telling them to remove crucifixes from the walls of their branches as the organisation looks to become more secular.

The Belgian branches of the international aid organisation received an email from the Provincial Committee of the Red Cross in Liège to remove all crucifixes. André Rouffart, president of the Red Cross in Verviers, said: “We were asked to respect the principles of the Red Cross”, and not to distinguish between race or religious belief 7sur7 reports.

Mr. Rouffart said there had been pushback from volunteers and other members on the issue but downplayed the issue, saying: “I think it’s a storm in a teacup.”

Several volunteers spoke to Belgian broadcaster RTL and expressed hostility to the move, with one saying: “Let things remain as they are. We used to say ‘Christmas holidays’, now it’s ‘winter holidays’. The Christmas market in Brussels has become the ‘Winter Pleasures’.”

With only two votes to spare, the United States Senate passed a massive tax “reform” bill over the weekend that aims to fundamentally overhaul the American tax code and stimulate economic growth.

Will it do either of those things? Who knows. It’s not going to do anything unless it gets passed, though … and even if it does get passed there are considerable questions as to whether it will provide a badly fractured ruling “Republican” party with anything resembling a real victory.

The bill that advanced by a 51-49 vote in the Senate is considerably different thanthe one which cleared the GOP-controlled U.S. House of Representatives last month. As a result, a conference committee will be convened to iron out the differences between the competing plans.

On Tuesday an unidentified good woman with a gun saw a law enforcement officer being attacked and shot his alleged attacker with her handgun.

The incident occurred outside a Chevron in Dawson County, Georgia.

According to Fox 5, Sgt. Randy Harkness gave a homeless man a courtesy ride to the Chevron and was giving him some money when the man allegedly began assaulting the officer. A woman sitting in a car noticed the assault, grabbed her gun and stepped in to help the officer.

The Chevron owner said the woman “shot off a round. The guy got off the police officer and she shot another round and he was running that way I think, there was three shots,”

Global Medical Supplies Manufacturer/Distributor Will Nearly Triple Footprint in the State

ANNAPOLIS, MD –Medline, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies and clinical solutions, is nearly tripling its footprint in Maryland with the construction of a 1.1 million square-foot distribution center in the Principio Business Park in Perryville. The new distribution center, which will replace the company’s current Havre de Grace facility, will be LEED-certified and is expected to create more than 200 new jobs over the next six years, which, when combined with their current workforce, will provide jobs for more than 300 local residents.

“Medline’s move to nearly triple its operations in Maryland and add 200 new jobs shows that our work to strengthen our state’s economy is delivering real results,” said Governor Larry Hogan. “Our highly-skilled workforce, along with our upgraded transportation infrastructure, gives companies like Medline a strategic advantage to easily connect with customers throughout the region.”

This site is one of more than 40 distribution centers strategically located across the country, making it possible for Medline to make any of its more than 350,000 products available whenever and wherever clinicians and patients need them most. Medline strives to drive healthcare solutions and advance patient outcomes throughout America and beyond. With more than 16,000 employees worldwide, Medline offers more than 350,000 medical devices and support services, and works with more than 90 countries across the globe. Headquartered in Illinois, the company has been named a Top Workplace by the Chicago Tribune for seven years.

According to the American Community Survey's new five-year estimates (2012-2016), the five richest counties in the country are: Loudoun County, Va., where the median household income was $125,672; Falls Church City, Va., where it was $115,244; Fairfax County, Va., where it was $114,329; Howard County, Md., where it was $113,800; and Arlington County, Va., where it was $108,706.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) blasted the FBI and Senate Democrats on Wednesday for their unwillingness to fairly investigate Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration, stating that the Democrats on the committee he oversees "only want to talk about [President] Trump."

In a fiery speech to the Senate, Grassley lambasted Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and other Democrats for "a double standard here in the way that they desperately want to go after the president but ignore all other potential wrongdoing in the previous administration."

He then tore into the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI, pointing out that the veteran FBI agent placed in charge of both the Clinton investigation and the Trump-Russia, Peter Strzok, is wildly anti-Trump. Grassley insisted that both the Trump-Russia investigation and the Clinton email investigation are intricately connected to the firing of the former FBI Director James Comey, so they must be investigated together. From his speech:

There are two major controversies plaguing the credibility of the Justice Department and the FBI right now. On the one hand the Trump Russia investigation, and then on the other hand the handling of the Clinton investigation. Any congressional oversight related to either one of these topics is not credible without also examining the other. Both cases were active during last year's campaign. Both cases have been linked to the firing of the FBI Director.

These questions go to the heart of the integrity of our federal law enforcement and justice system.

The Wicomico County Department of Emergency Services is monitoring current weather conditions. The following information is based on a National Weather Service Wakefield Briefing held Friday, December 8, 2017 at 11:00 AM:

A Winter Storm Advisory has been issued for Friday December 8, 2017 from 7:00 PM to Saturday, December 9, 2017 to 7:00 PM. A Winter Weather Advisory for wet snow means periods of wet snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities and use caution while traveling.

A consultant who worked with the highly politicized Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) claims the organization funneled a large portion of over $5 billion in collected penalties to "community organizers aligned with Democrats" as part of a giant slush fund, thePost reports.

[The CFPB] Funneled a large portion of the more than $5 billion in penalties collected from defendants to community organizers aligned with Democrats — “a slush fund by another name,” said a consultant who worked with CFPB on its Civil Penalty Fund and requested anonymity.

Created six years ago as the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren and slipped into the Dodd Frank bill before it was passed by Congressional Democrats, the CFPB became one of the most powerful agencies in D.C., with the ability to exercise enormous power over the U.S. economy while its budget remained unencumbered by congressional oversight. As one Hill writer put it:

The problem is that this agency and its director were set up to be free from the control of the Congress. Congress’s fundamental obligation to oversee and fund such bureaus or agencies is short-circuited when it comes to the CFPB. In structuring it in the manner written by now-Sen. Warren (D-Mass.), the law abrogated the idea of a government by the people, for the people and of the people.

Instead, it established an autocratic and unaccountable power center for people of Warren’s ideological persuasion — those who view our market economy as an enemy that must be managed by a chosen few. The creation of the CFPB as a rogue agency with a dictatorial leader is one of the most significant acts of malfeasance perpetrated on the American constitutional system since the Sedition Acts of 1798.

Beverly Young Nelson has finally admitted that she forged a portion of the infamous high school yearbook that she and attorney Gloria Allred used as proof of her accusations against U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore.

And in yet another blow to the credibility of ABC News, the disgraced, left-wing network downplayed the bombshell by presenting this admission of forgery as adding “notes” to the inscription. Worse still, the reporter actually coaches Nelson, puts words in her mouth, downplay the enormous significance of her deceit.

Laura Ingraham called out Democrats’ “feverish morality” and, along with guest Newt Gingrich, questioned the party’s "political calculation" after more than 30 Democrats called on Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign.

In her opening "Angle" monologue, Ingraham said Democrats "have come down with a sudden case of feverish morality," which she argued is really more about their overall goal of destroying President Trump.

She said Democrats believe it's "worth sacrificing Franken," like they did with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), in order to "save the political Titanic that is their party."

Ingraham said Democrats plan to use the "war on women" narrative to drive Roy Moore from office if he wins the Alabama Senate race and strengthen their argument for impeaching Trump.

On Monday night, the GOP tax bill took another step toward President Donald Trump’s desk when Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., named nine members to the conference committee, including Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, R-Texas.

The Senate is expected to name its negotiators later this week as the two chambers work to reconcile their respective versions of the bill. As the bill moves forward, Democrats are becoming increasingly frantic—and apocalyptic—in their efforts to derail tax reform.

“[This bill] is the worst bill in the history of the United States Congress,” claimed House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., during House floor debates on the tax bill. She clarified later during a press conference: “No, it is the end of the world … This is Armageddon.”

It’s unclear which parts of the GOP tax bill signal the four horsemen of Pelosi’s prophesied apocalypse. Maybe it’s the increase in the child tax credit, which the House bumped up to $1,600 per child (and the Senate raised even further to $2,000). This legislation would provide critical relief for working families, but for the Democrats, that relief goes hand in hand with our doom.

Trying her hand at prophesy, the House minority leader is now saying God is siding Democrats in its efforts to attach Deferred Action Against Childhood Arrivals (DACA) legislation to a House budget bill, an issue that may lead a government shutdown.

"We're not backing off anything," Pelosi said Thursday of Democrats' demand that a DREAM Act pass before Congress recess for the year. "We are not going to turn this country into a reign of terror of domestic enforcement, and have the DACA, the DREAMers pay that price."

Pelosi then invoked the Almighty, arguing he's favoring Democrats in the policy squabble.

"But I'm optimistic," she said. "I always have been. God is with us on this. Our country is great. We know that greatness springs from the vitality that newcomers bring to our country."

Philadelphia is one step closer to getting rid of bulletproof glass in many of its small businesses as part of a larger effort to crack down on loitering, public urination and potential drug sales -- but the potential ban has triggered a backlash from shopkeepers.

The city's Public Health and Human Services Committee passed a bill Monday enabling Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections to regulate the bullet-resistant barricades that stand between customers and cash registers in many neighborhood corner stores, according to FOX29.

“No establishment required to obtain a Large Establishment license … shall erect or maintain a physical barrier that requires the persons serving the food either to open a window or other aperture or to pass the food through a window or other aperture, in order to hand the food to a customer inside the establishment,” the bill states. It also calls for larger establishments to have bathrooms for customers.

Several of the hundreds of deli owners told FOX29 they feel as though they are being singled out, and numerous shopkeepers are among those protesting the bill.

Former Pennsylvania state Rep. Marc Gergely – who resigned last month – is awaiting sentencing next week on corruption charges in relation to an illegal gambling machine ring.

Gergely, 48, a Democrat from Allegheny County who served in the state House for seven terms, is set to appear in court Monday for his sentencing on charges of conspiracy and violating the state’s campaign finance laws on cash contributions.

He was forced to step down from his state House seat in November as a condition of a plea deal he entered in August for the two misdemeanor charges.

Gergely was accused of working in tandem with liquor attorney Louis Caputo and using his position to enrich and “protect” Ronald “Porky” Melocchi – a former owner of video gaming machines.

He reportedly exerted his influence to convince business owners, skeptical of gambling, to install machines owned by Melocchi.

In response to the increase in active shooter incidents throughout the country, the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office will be conducting an active shooter training program designed for civilians, especially our local businesses and places of worship throughout the Eastern Shore. While there are other law enforcement agencies already conducting similar training programs throughout the country, it was the Massacre at the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas back in November that has generated the necessity and demand for additional training.

The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office has implemented an active shooter training program designed for civilians. Sheriff’s Office personnel fully trained and certified in the RAIDER solo engagement system, and the FEMA/DHS LASER active shooter program will be conducting this training. LASER produced the “Run, Hide, Fight” video for civilian responses to active shooters.

Law enforcement officers and agencies are frequently requested by schools, businesses, and community members for direction and presentations on what they should do if confronted with an active shooter event. The RAIDER solo engagement system provides strategies, guidance and a proven plan for surviving an active shooter event. Topics include the history and prevalence of active shooter events, civilian response options, medical issues, and considerations for conducting drills.

Pastors Bill Warren and Bruce Glisson of the Allen Memorial Baptist Churchhave graciously agreed to host this training event which is expected to last for two hours and is free of charge to anyone who wishes to attend. Any questions can be directed to the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office at 410-548-4891.

Seth Williams, Philadelphia's former top prosecutor, has been moved to a federal prison in Oklahoma to begin serving a five-year sentence for accepting a bribe.

The two-term Democrat became the city's first black DA when he won office in 2009, after serving as Philadelphia’s inspector general – a role that required him to oversee municipal anti-corruption efforts.

He is slated for release in November 2021.

At his Oct. 24 sentencing, U.S. District Judge Paul Diamond said Williams, 50, sold his office to "parasites.”

"Your profound dishonesty has to be deterred," Diamond told Williams, before ordering him jailed immediately.

Police in Baltimore City have recovered a “substantial amount” of fentanyl from an early Tuesday morning raid at a corner store on the war-torn streets of West Baltimore.

Police report two unidentified people were taken into custody at the time of the raid with pending charges. Police served a search and seizure warrant at the store after a concerned resident in the neighborhood tipped off police.

In fact, at the time of the raid, police had to call in various hazmat crews, because so much fentanyl and opioids were found. One reporter on the scene snapped incredible photos of “guys in hazmat suits” holding “some sort of detectors in hand.”

Obama’s National Security Council allegedly leaked information about former Navy SEAL and Blackwater CEO Erik Prince to the liberal press after they put him under “illegal” surveillance during a foreign trip, according to testimony Prince gave the House Intelligence Committee back in November.

The transcript, released Wednesday, indicates Prince believed that surveillance to be “illegal.” In response to a question from Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), Prince discussed his belief American intelligence agencies surveilled him while he spoke in a hotel bar in the Seychelles with Russian businessman Kirill Dmitriev in January of 2017.

The investigation, supposedly about Trump-Russia ties, later was used by the Washington Post in a piece about Trump ally Prince’s connections to Russia. The Post alleged he was trying to set up a “back channel” between Trump and Putin.

Prince told Rooney:

What really bothers me and what I would hope the intelligence committee is doing is question why Americans that were caught up in the waves of signals intelligence, why on Earth would the Washington Post be running an article on any meeting that a private citizen, me, was having in a foreign country?"

The full horror of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour has been laid bare in newly colorized pictures released on the 76th anniversary of the assault.

In just 90 minutes, more than 2,400 US servicemen and civilians lost their lives while 17 ships were damaged or lost - dragging America into the Second World War and forever changing the course of the conflict.

The pictures here show the wrecks of the USS California, which sank after being hit by two torpedoes and two bombs, and the USS Oklahoma, which was holed by four torpedoes and capsized.

Others reveal the damage done on shore as Navy fighter planes were blown up without the chance to take off and hangars set ablaze during the surprise assault.

The Labor Department released its official hiring and unemployment figures for November on Friday morning, providing the latest snapshot of the American economy.

■ 228,000 jobs were added last month. Wall Street economists had expected an increase of about 200,000, according to Bloomberg.■ The unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged from October, when it was the lowest since 2000.■ Average earnings rose by 5 cents an hour and are up 2.5 percent over the past year.

China and Russia have spent billions of dollars over the past decade on state-run propaganda campaigns disguised as commercial ventures in an effort to shape public opinion and policy debates in democracies around the world, according to a new report by the National Endowment for Democracy.

To accomplish this, Beijing and Moscow have deployed a diverse array of tools, including people-to-people exchanges, cultural activities, educational programs, and the development of media enterprises with global reach.

These methods have become a key element of Chinese and Russian foreign policy, particularly in their efforts to project "sharp power" abroad.

Unlike the Cold War-era tactics of "soft power," based on attraction and the positive appeal of political ideals, or the projection of "hard power" by military force, sharp power entails a degree of stealth and centers on distraction and manipulation.

On 12/07/2017 at approximately 2047 hrs, Maryland State Police (Berlin) responded to the area of Rt 113 @ Carey Rd, Berlin, Worcester County, MD reference a motor vehicle collision.

The initial investigation revealed a 2008 Chevy truck operated by Jeremy J. Meekins of Whaleyville, MD was traveling US Rt 113 northbound @ Carey Rd when the vehicle exited the right side of the roadway and struck a tree.

While interviewing Meekins, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was detected on his breath and person. Investigating troopers also noted him to have red, bloodshot and glassy eyes. Meekins refused all standardized field tests on scene. Due to the troopers observations Meekins was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Once at the barrack, Meekins refused an alcohol concentration test. He was charged with DUI and related charges for the collision. Meekins was not injured as a result of the collision. No state property was damaged.

A Winter Weather Advisory is now in effect from 4 PM this Afternoon to 4 PM Saturday for portions of the region. Total wet snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches are expected across the Advisory area. Please see below more detailed information.

Good morning! Here is the latest on the snow potential tonight through Saturday. We have increased snow totals slightly across northern and western portions of the region based on the most recent model guidance. We are still expecting primarily rain across southeastern portions of the region. Snow accumulations will primarily occur on grassy and elevated surfaces as road surface temperatures are well above freezing. This is still an evolving situation so continue to follow http://www.weather.gov/wakefield and our winter weather page at http://www.weather.gov/akq/winter for the latest information!

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Governor Larry Hogan said “enough is enough,” as he released details of a new, comprehensive crime plan at a press conference Tuesday.

The governor is coming after lawbreakers on Baltimore’s streets, and took emergency action to combat the record violence.

Hogan announced the formation of a new “Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network” that will assist police and prosecutors in “going after and taking down the people who are responsible for so much of the violence” in the state.

The plan includes dropping borders for police and prosecutors, and pushing tougher laws against repeat offenders.

State police agencies, even some federal agencies, are already here on local turf.

"I know in my heart that I have done nothing - nothing - that has brought dishonor to this institution. Nevertheless, I am announcing that in the coming weeks I am resigning from the Senate."

"I am proud that during my time in the Senate I have used my power to be a champion to women. I know who I really am. I know that there has been a very different picture of me painted over the last few weeks."

The Democrats calling on Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign are acting like a "lynch mob," according to Fox News host Laura Ingraham and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

".. I'll tell you this tonight, be wary of the lynch mob you join today," Ingraham added. "Because tomorrow, it could be coming for your husband, your brother, your son, and yes, even your president."

Later on her show, Gingrich said in an interview that "all these nice people, none of whom have given back the money that they raised from Harvey Weinstein, none of whom have repudiated Hillary Clinton and Bill Clinton, none of whom seemed offended in the past, suddenly in a paroxysm of moral outrage, create a lynch mob."

He added, "and what you saw today was a lynch mob. Let's not have due process. Let's not ask anybody any questions. Let's not have any chance to have a hearing. Let's just lynch him, because when we get done lynching him, we'll be so pure."

North Korea says a nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula has become a matter of when, not if, as it continued to lash out at a massive joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea involving hundreds of advanced warplanes.

In comments attributed to an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesman, North Korea also claimed high-ranked U.S. officials, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo, have further confirmed American intent for war with a series of "bellicose remarks."

Pompeo said Saturday that U.S. intelligence agencies believe North Korean leader Kim Jong Un doesn't have a good idea about how tenuous his situation is domestically and internationally. The North's spokesman said Pompeo provoked the country by "impudently criticizing our supreme leadership which is the heart of our people."

"We do not wish for a war but shall not hide from it, and should the U.S. miscalculate our patience and light the fuse for a nuclear war, we will surely make the U.S. dearly pay the consequences with our mighty nuclear force which we have consistently strengthened," the spokesman said.

The giant snake was caught Friday at Big Cypress National Preserve, according to NBC 6 Miami.

“That snake could pretty much kill any full-grown man,” said one of the hunters who caught the python, Jason Leon, to NBC 6. “If that snake was alive right now, it would probably take like three of us to be able to control that snake.”

It’s so far the largest snake to be caught under the South Florida Water Management District’s python elimination program.

County Executive Steve Schuh has asked for a refund of $1,000 he gave to controversial U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore from Alabama, the same day his donation was made public by a progressive political blog. At an event Wednesday, Schuh confirmed the previously undisclosed donation and said his decision to ask for the money back was unrelated to a report in the “Arundel Patriot.” “My contribution was in connection to the Severna Park fundraiser a few months ago, before I found out he was a creeper,” Schuh said. “Since the time that became clear, I have asked for my money back.” (Capital)

Since she was 2, Alexis Barries has bounced from foster home to group home to finally, a place of her own. She’s got dreams of becoming an attorney, and even started college early, at 16.

Eight years and five community colleges later, the Californian is still a freshman, working her way through school at an exceedingly slow pace, punctuated by a frustrating series of stops and starts, from financial aid snafus to housing mix-ups. Without an adult to help her figure things out, she says, the obstacles she encountered took on Kafkaesque proportions.

“I wasn’t prepared for college. I didn’t have parents or anyone to look up to or help me with my college experience,” said Barries, who lives in Stockton, California, where she now attends San Joaquin Delta College.

“I completely fell down.”

At a time when many parents help their children navigate every twist and turn of their academic lives, former and current foster youth have a particularly difficult path. If they don’t have a parental figure to guide them, they’re often left on their own to maneuver through the maze of college applications and financial aid paperwork.

Some states are stepping up efforts to give them more guidance and support.

The rise of the gig economy and a broad shift to contract work is making it easier for people to evade paying child support, causing headaches for parents and for state officials charged with tracking down the money.

About 70 percent of child support payments are collected by withholding income from paychecks. It’s possible to capture the wages of an Uber driver, Airbnb renter or a contractor — but only if state officials know that a person owing child support is earning wages that can be garnished, and only if the employer cooperates.

In every state, employers are required to report new hires to a child support database used to find out where parents are working to set orders and withhold income. But in most states, employers are bound by those rules only when they hire full-time or part-time employees, not contractors or gig workers, who are sometimes classified as contractors. Texas expanded its law to include contractors in 2015, and lawmakers in other states, including Oregon and New York, have proposed doing the same.

But even in the states where employers are required to report contractors, such as California, companies such as Uber and Lyft still aren’t following the rules, and state officials have few ways to make them comply, said Alisha Griffin, who heads the California Department of Child Support Services.

Nationwide, there is about $114 billion in unpaid child support, which has accumulated over time and grows every year. Child support orders are set when parents separate to ensure that both parents pay for children’s basic needs, such as food and clothing.